The ring deposits you all safely outside the base and seals up afterwards. Neo Metal Sonic doesn't chase after you, which is something of a mercy.
What's significantly less of a mercy is the sky - it's gone dark and ominously stormy, though the clouds spark not with lightning, but with that same green Chaos Energy you've been facing this entire fight. Worse still, there are now far, far too many robotic planes filling the sky - the Egg Fleet seems to go on endlessly, as far as you can see. Though perhaps it would be more accurate to call it the Neo Metal Sonic Fleet.
Sonic and friends arrive shortly, looking pretty banged up but otherwise still healthy enough to make it here, though they stare up at the sky with obvious concern.
"O...kay, this is definitely not what any of us were expecting."
"We will have to take the fight to them, it seems."
"Easier said than done, I'm afraid... I'm not sure how to pinpoint their leader's exact location to send you all with a ring..."
A jolt of green lightning flashes across the sky and Neo Metal Sonic's voice rings out.
"I expect to see you onboard my fleet in one week's time. That includes you, my loathsome copy."
It seems you don't really have much of a choice. For now, tend to your wounds and try to regroup; you've earned a break after today.
[Oscar follows suit, though far more gingerly given his injuries. Whether it actually takes him a bit of time to get settled comfortably or whether he's simply trying to stall is hard to tell, though the end result is the same.
He's quiet for a moment before at last he speaks.]
Dunno why anyone would want to hear my thoughts. Anythin' that requires usin' your head has never really suited me, so that's why I just stick to the stuff that takes strength.
[He laughs quietly.]
So unless they wanna hear about what I'm plannin' on cookin' for dinner or which bar I'm goin' to tonight, there's not much point in askin' about that kind of thing.
[He knows, of course, exactly what Vakama really meant by that. He also has no intentions of answering it honestly, because he's perfected the mask so well by now that it's easier to keep it in place than it is to let it slip.]
You would not be out staring into the unseeable distance with such a look on your face if there were not something with considerable importance on your mind.
I have not minded your thoughts, Oscar, when you allow them to come. They are not as pointless as you insist they are, just as others' thoughts are not pointless to you when they are voiced. [He folds his arms tight, leaning them against his knees as he looks out to the river.] But I'm no different than you, so perhaps I have no room to talk.
[... busted. A part of him supposes it was only to be expected; it was quite a departure from his usual demeanor, which was exactly why he'd retreated outside for a bit of space rather than staying in with the others. It really isn't a tremendous surprise that at least one amongst their little group would be able to see right through it...
He's silent for a long moment before pulling out the cigarette he'd pocketed when they'd begun walking over, holding it up to gesture to Vakama with a simple:]
Y'mind?
[At least he has the self-awareness to know that not everyone appreciates the smoke-- it is harmful, after all, as he's well aware. (Which may in fact be part of why he does it, not that he'll say as much aloud.)]
[With a grateful nod, Oscar lights the cigarette and takes a deep pull on it, exhaling a puff of smoke in what almost sounds like a sigh. The ritual is more comforting than he'd like to admit, a way to calm his jangled nerves after a harsh battle... which is certainly what today had been.
He's silent for quite a while, rolling the thoughts around in his head while he tries to figure out what he wants to say. At last, he settles on:]
... I really thought we were gonna lose someone today.
No, but that was pretty awful all on its own, too.
[He takes another drag of the cigarette, his other hand still holding the lighter clenching just a little tighter around its familiar shape.]
I mean what happened with More, an'... Bas jumpin' in to take that hit for me. I thought I was gonna have to watch 'em die right in front of me.
[He's already been through that once, and he came out the other side permanently scarred in more than just the physical sense. Another time would have been far too much for him to bear.]
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no subject
He's quiet for a moment before at last he speaks.]
Dunno why anyone would want to hear my thoughts. Anythin' that requires usin' your head has never really suited me, so that's why I just stick to the stuff that takes strength.
[He laughs quietly.]
So unless they wanna hear about what I'm plannin' on cookin' for dinner or which bar I'm goin' to tonight, there's not much point in askin' about that kind of thing.
[He knows, of course, exactly what Vakama really meant by that. He also has no intentions of answering it honestly, because he's perfected the mask so well by now that it's easier to keep it in place than it is to let it slip.]
no subject
You would not be out staring into the unseeable distance with such a look on your face if there were not something with considerable importance on your mind.
I have not minded your thoughts, Oscar, when you allow them to come. They are not as pointless as you insist they are, just as others' thoughts are not pointless to you when they are voiced. [He folds his arms tight, leaning them against his knees as he looks out to the river.] But I'm no different than you, so perhaps I have no room to talk.
no subject
He's silent for a long moment before pulling out the cigarette he'd pocketed when they'd begun walking over, holding it up to gesture to Vakama with a simple:]
Y'mind?
[At least he has the self-awareness to know that not everyone appreciates the smoke-- it is harmful, after all, as he's well aware. (Which may in fact be part of why he does it, not that he'll say as much aloud.)]
no subject
He shakes his head.]
I worked in forges. A little smoke will be welcome, if anything.
no subject
He's silent for quite a while, rolling the thoughts around in his head while he tries to figure out what he wants to say. At last, he settles on:]
... I really thought we were gonna lose someone today.
no subject
Mm. A lot was thrown at us unexpectedly, you and Basilio included.
Given your hesitations, though, I take it you do not mean what happened with those that lost control.
no subject
[He takes another drag of the cigarette, his other hand still holding the lighter clenching just a little tighter around its familiar shape.]
I mean what happened with More, an'... Bas jumpin' in to take that hit for me. I thought I was gonna have to watch 'em die right in front of me.
[He's already been through that once, and he came out the other side permanently scarred in more than just the physical sense. Another time would have been far too much for him to bear.]